Texte intégral

1This article about on Iran’s first press law, enacted on 10 February 1908, sheds light on the intellectual, social and political context in which the bill of law was drafted. It traces discussions in the press preceding enactment and analyzes the views of early constitutionalist journalists, from whom publishing a newspaper was “the holiest and the best service for their country, a ‘sacred’ weapon” (p. 230) that could be used to curb abuses of power by the government. When the newspapers increasingly attacked state authorities and the shah, the government cracked down on the press. Restrictions of the press did not originate from the state alone however, but also from various social groups, such as radical anjomans. This lively debate on freedom of the press reflected general social tensions during the early constitutional period.